He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)

The summer holiday really begins in earnest Memorial Day weekend. Many people spend the weekend cooking and eating hot dogs and hamburgers, hanging out at the lake, and enjoying the three-day weekend before heading back to work on Tuesday. Still others decide to use this weekend as a springboard to start their summer vacations.

But in the midst of all of this, we need to remember the reason for the holiday—those who sacrificed their lives so that we can enjoy these freedoms. These are sacrifices that we take for granted. We celebrate the soldiers’ sacrifice with a parade once a year, and it gets overshadowed by the beginning of summer activities to which we’ve become so accustomed.

There is another sacrifice of which we often think very little, and that is the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. He made the ultimate sacrifice when he died on the cross for our sins. When we acknowledge his sacrifice, he gives us true freedom, and we can stop living in our guilt and shame and anything else that ties us down. And that is something worth celebrating.

Dear Jesus, thank you for sacrificing your life to save mine. Thank you for the people who have served this country and fought for the freedoms we enjoy. Help us not to take those freedoms—or their sacrifice—for granted. Amen.